LAMMA is the UK’s largest agricultural trade show, where over 850 exhibitors will host the most extensive array of farm machinery, equipment, and services to be found in one location anywhere in the UK.

“Departments already have a lot to deliver besides Brexit and need to prioritise, including stopping some projects to make room for essential Brexit work.”

Business-as-usual activity, planned business changes and manifesto commitments should all be up for the chop according to the MPs, who also demanded departments publish details of which projects had been stopped by April 2018.

Department for Exiting the EU records show Defra had 43 active Brexit work streams in November last year, second only to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which had 69.

MPs on the committee warned the problems with cash were being compounded by an inability to recruit the right staff across Whitehall.

The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for ensuring departments have the people they need, admitted the Government did not have the technical, project or senior leadership capacity to deliver Brexit alongside the rest of its planned activity.

Competing

Competing against private sector organisations preparing for Brexit was another recruitment concern for the Cabinet Office, with a spokesman telling MPs: “I think there could be an issue in the marketplace; we are competing for skills which are pretty rare.”

The committee has recommended ‘credible plans’ be put together to identify, recruit and get in place people with the right skills as quickly as possible.

Defra Secretary Michael Gove has previously said he is confident Defra will be properly resourced in future, pointing to increased staff numbers and extra cash from the Treasury.